WCWA preview: Storylines for the 2016 Women’s College Nationals in Oklahoma City this weekend
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Kayla Miracle, in red singlet on her way to a 2016 Dave Schultz Memorial gold medal, will seek to repeat as a WCWA national champion for Campbellsville this weekend. Photo by John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com
The first of the 2016 college national wrestling championships will be held this weekend, as Oklahoma City University is hosting the WCWA Women’s College Nationals at the Freede Center/Abe Lemons Arena, Feb. 12-13. This is the second time that Oklahoma City has hosted the event, going back to 2008 when it was last held there.
There are a variety of story lines which should make this year’s edition of the growing WCWA Women’s College Nationals interesting and exciting.
King seeks a three-peat: King University won the last two WCWA women’s national titles, and enters the 2016 championships with a No. 1 team ranking. King also won the 2016 National Duals event earlier in the season. Since the first women’s college nationals was held in 2004, only two teams have won at least three national titles in a row. Oklahoma City claimed four in a row (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012), while the University of the Cumberlands won three straight (2006, 2007, 2008).
Wide open team race – Although King is favored and has two No. 1 ranked individuals, No. 2 Oklahoma City has the most athletes with No. 1 individual rankings with three. Rounding out the top five are No. 3 ranked Simon Fraser, No. 4 ranked Campbellsville and No. 5 ranked the University of the Cumberlands. All of these teams have won a previous college nationals title except for Campbellsville, which placed a strong second in last year’s competition.
Four returning national champions – There should be a number of new WCWA individual champions crowned this year, as there are only four returning champions this year and none who have won multiple national titles. Coming in with No. 1 rankings are returning WCWA champions Cody Pfau of Oklahoma City (109), Kayla Miracle of Campbellsville (130) and Victoria Francis of Lindenwood (170). Miracle won her title last year competing at 136 pounds. The other returning champion is Tiara Scott of Campbellsville (191), who enters the tournament with a No. 2 national ranking.
Year of the freshman – Freshmen have had a great year on the WCWA circuit, as three enter the national tournament with No. 1 rankings, Becka Leathers of Oklahoma City at 123, Hanna Jewell of King at 136 and Jessica Rottier of the Univ. of the Cumberlands at 155. It doesn’t stop there. Coming in with a No. 2 ranking at 130 is freshman Maya Nelson of the University of the Cumberlands at 130. Wayland Baptist has a pair of freshmen with No. 3 national rankings, Rhonda Johnson at 109 and Brittany Marshall at 170.
WCWA is broadcast by Flowrestling for first time – Although past WCWA Nationals have been webcast before, this year, popular wrestling broadcaster Flowrestling will provide the live stream of the championships for the first time. Brock Hite will be on the call, bringing the women’s college action to a large audience. For those who enjoy watching live wrestling, this is a great opportunity to check out the highest level of women’s college action. Check out the stream at:
http://www.flowrestling.org/event/252925-wcwa-women-s-college-national-championsh
#Road2IowaCity event, with up to 30 Olympic Trials berths at stake – There is special significance at this year’s WCWA Nationals, with as many as 30 spots in the Olympic Trials available. The top three USA athletes in each weight category from the 2016 WCWA Nationals punch their ticket to Iowa City, April 9-10. The total number of qualifiers could be fewer, because if any of the top three Americans in each weight have already qualified, that spot will not be filled. So far, 15 college wrestlers have qualified for the Trials through other events.
Americans stars on Simon Fraser, Canada’s NCAA team – Simon Fraser is the lone Canadian team in the WCWA, and the team has traditionally featured both Canadian and American athletes on its roster. Both of Simon Fraser’s four-time WCWA champions who have graduated are Americans, Victoria Anthony and Helen Maroulis. This year, Simon Fraser has five Americans who are nationally ranked in the WCWA. They are No. 1 Mallory Velte of California at 143, No. 4 Francesca Giorgio of Pennsylvania at 136, No. 6 Dominique Parrish of California at 123, No. 7 Jennifer Anderson of Washington at 123 and No. 8 Kendall Reusing of California at 170.
New teams in the mix – Every year, women’s college wrestling continues to grow, and there will be some new programs competing in their first WCWA Nationals this year. They include Adrian College of Michigan, Emmanuel College of Georgia, Ferrum College of Virginia and Southern Oregon of Oregon. A few more colleges have already announced they will join next year, Eastern Oregon of Oregon and MacMurray of Illinois.
Women’s college stars on display at Dave Schultz Memorial – Some of the athletes expected to excel at the WCWA Nationals this week took the trip to Colorado Springs to compete in the Dave Schultz Memorial two weeks ago and test themselves at the next level. Winning a gold medal at 58 kg was Kayla Miracle who competes for Campbellsville. Claiming a silver medal at 69 kg was Forrest Molinari from the King team. Winning bronze medals were Becka Leathers of Oklahoma City at 58 kg and Jessika Rottier of the Univ. of the Cumberlands at 69 kg.
The host coach, Archie Randall of OCU, on the tournament: “It will be the biggest WCWA national championship of all time. King is making strategic moves in their lineup. Every team has a couple of good girls. It’s going to be an exciting tournament. The team who wrestles the best will win. Everybody wants theirs. Everybody will be trying to win matches. It’s a great and exciting time for women’s wrestling. It’s really competitive wrestling. It will be an exciting tournament. The technique level has quadrupled. You will see some good wrestling.”
Defending national champion coach Jason Moorman of King on what it will take to win: “We have to perform individually. I’ll be honest. We are allowing some of our girls to go whatever weight that they want to, in order to achieve the goals which they have set, where they feel that they can be the most competitive. We won’t have somebody in every single weight. We will have multiple people in certain weights. Still, if everybody can perform, we will give it a good shot.”
No. 3 Simon Fraser has Canadian Olympian and 3x WCWA champion helping prepare: Former Clan star Danielle Lappage, who earned Canada's first wrestling berth in the 2016 Summer Olympics, is helping the team prepare for nationals. “Danielle is on campus this month helping me prepare the girls for nationals," said Clan head coach Mike Jones. "She has a lot of experience to pass along. She knows the commitment and dedication it takes to be successful at the highest levels and for our girls to be around her and to train with her is extremely beneficial."
WCWA WOMEN’S COLLEGE NATIONALS
At Oklahoma City, Okla., Feb. 12-13
Friday, February 12
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. - Session I - Preliminary Rounds
4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. - Session II - Quarterfinals in Championship and consolation rounds
Saturday, February 13
10:00 a.m. - Session III - Semifinals to Medal Rounds
1:00 p.m. - Session IV - Medal Rounds
7:00 p.m. - Session V - Championship Finals
Ticket Information: Single-Session Adult - $10.00; All-Session Pass - $45.00
Single-Session Child (Ages 3-12) - $5.00 All Session Pass $20.00
To purchase tickets in advance or for more information, call 405-208-5309
WCWA Nationals website landing page
Live results on TrackWrestling
Visitors guide to OCU with links to local hotel and restaurant info:
The first of the 2016 college national wrestling championships will be held this weekend, as Oklahoma City University is hosting the WCWA Women’s College Nationals at the Freede Center/Abe Lemons Arena, Feb. 12-13. This is the second time that Oklahoma City has hosted the event, going back to 2008 when it was last held there.
There are a variety of story lines which should make this year’s edition of the growing WCWA Women’s College Nationals interesting and exciting.
King seeks a three-peat: King University won the last two WCWA women’s national titles, and enters the 2016 championships with a No. 1 team ranking. King also won the 2016 National Duals event earlier in the season. Since the first women’s college nationals was held in 2004, only two teams have won at least three national titles in a row. Oklahoma City claimed four in a row (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012), while the University of the Cumberlands won three straight (2006, 2007, 2008).
Wide open team race – Although King is favored and has two No. 1 ranked individuals, No. 2 Oklahoma City has the most athletes with No. 1 individual rankings with three. Rounding out the top five are No. 3 ranked Simon Fraser, No. 4 ranked Campbellsville and No. 5 ranked the University of the Cumberlands. All of these teams have won a previous college nationals title except for Campbellsville, which placed a strong second in last year’s competition.
Four returning national champions – There should be a number of new WCWA individual champions crowned this year, as there are only four returning champions this year and none who have won multiple national titles. Coming in with No. 1 rankings are returning WCWA champions Cody Pfau of Oklahoma City (109), Kayla Miracle of Campbellsville (130) and Victoria Francis of Lindenwood (170). Miracle won her title last year competing at 136 pounds. The other returning champion is Tiara Scott of Campbellsville (191), who enters the tournament with a No. 2 national ranking.
Year of the freshman – Freshmen have had a great year on the WCWA circuit, as three enter the national tournament with No. 1 rankings, Becka Leathers of Oklahoma City at 123, Hanna Jewell of King at 136 and Jessica Rottier of the Univ. of the Cumberlands at 155. It doesn’t stop there. Coming in with a No. 2 ranking at 130 is freshman Maya Nelson of the University of the Cumberlands at 130. Wayland Baptist has a pair of freshmen with No. 3 national rankings, Rhonda Johnson at 109 and Brittany Marshall at 170.
WCWA is broadcast by Flowrestling for first time – Although past WCWA Nationals have been webcast before, this year, popular wrestling broadcaster Flowrestling will provide the live stream of the championships for the first time. Brock Hite will be on the call, bringing the women’s college action to a large audience. For those who enjoy watching live wrestling, this is a great opportunity to check out the highest level of women’s college action. Check out the stream at:
http://www.flowrestling.org/event/252925-wcwa-women-s-college-national-championsh
#Road2IowaCity event, with up to 30 Olympic Trials berths at stake – There is special significance at this year’s WCWA Nationals, with as many as 30 spots in the Olympic Trials available. The top three USA athletes in each weight category from the 2016 WCWA Nationals punch their ticket to Iowa City, April 9-10. The total number of qualifiers could be fewer, because if any of the top three Americans in each weight have already qualified, that spot will not be filled. So far, 15 college wrestlers have qualified for the Trials through other events.
Americans stars on Simon Fraser, Canada’s NCAA team – Simon Fraser is the lone Canadian team in the WCWA, and the team has traditionally featured both Canadian and American athletes on its roster. Both of Simon Fraser’s four-time WCWA champions who have graduated are Americans, Victoria Anthony and Helen Maroulis. This year, Simon Fraser has five Americans who are nationally ranked in the WCWA. They are No. 1 Mallory Velte of California at 143, No. 4 Francesca Giorgio of Pennsylvania at 136, No. 6 Dominique Parrish of California at 123, No. 7 Jennifer Anderson of Washington at 123 and No. 8 Kendall Reusing of California at 170.
New teams in the mix – Every year, women’s college wrestling continues to grow, and there will be some new programs competing in their first WCWA Nationals this year. They include Adrian College of Michigan, Emmanuel College of Georgia, Ferrum College of Virginia and Southern Oregon of Oregon. A few more colleges have already announced they will join next year, Eastern Oregon of Oregon and MacMurray of Illinois.
Women’s college stars on display at Dave Schultz Memorial – Some of the athletes expected to excel at the WCWA Nationals this week took the trip to Colorado Springs to compete in the Dave Schultz Memorial two weeks ago and test themselves at the next level. Winning a gold medal at 58 kg was Kayla Miracle who competes for Campbellsville. Claiming a silver medal at 69 kg was Forrest Molinari from the King team. Winning bronze medals were Becka Leathers of Oklahoma City at 58 kg and Jessika Rottier of the Univ. of the Cumberlands at 69 kg.
The host coach, Archie Randall of OCU, on the tournament: “It will be the biggest WCWA national championship of all time. King is making strategic moves in their lineup. Every team has a couple of good girls. It’s going to be an exciting tournament. The team who wrestles the best will win. Everybody wants theirs. Everybody will be trying to win matches. It’s a great and exciting time for women’s wrestling. It’s really competitive wrestling. It will be an exciting tournament. The technique level has quadrupled. You will see some good wrestling.”
Defending national champion coach Jason Moorman of King on what it will take to win: “We have to perform individually. I’ll be honest. We are allowing some of our girls to go whatever weight that they want to, in order to achieve the goals which they have set, where they feel that they can be the most competitive. We won’t have somebody in every single weight. We will have multiple people in certain weights. Still, if everybody can perform, we will give it a good shot.”
No. 3 Simon Fraser has Canadian Olympian and 3x WCWA champion helping prepare: Former Clan star Danielle Lappage, who earned Canada's first wrestling berth in the 2016 Summer Olympics, is helping the team prepare for nationals. “Danielle is on campus this month helping me prepare the girls for nationals," said Clan head coach Mike Jones. "She has a lot of experience to pass along. She knows the commitment and dedication it takes to be successful at the highest levels and for our girls to be around her and to train with her is extremely beneficial."
WCWA WOMEN’S COLLEGE NATIONALS
At Oklahoma City, Okla., Feb. 12-13
Friday, February 12
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. - Session I - Preliminary Rounds
4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. - Session II - Quarterfinals in Championship and consolation rounds
Saturday, February 13
10:00 a.m. - Session III - Semifinals to Medal Rounds
1:00 p.m. - Session IV - Medal Rounds
7:00 p.m. - Session V - Championship Finals
Ticket Information: Single-Session Adult - $10.00; All-Session Pass - $45.00
Single-Session Child (Ages 3-12) - $5.00 All Session Pass $20.00
To purchase tickets in advance or for more information, call 405-208-5309
WCWA Nationals website landing page
Live results on TrackWrestling
Visitors guide to OCU with links to local hotel and restaurant info:
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